Last Stop. Monserrat. And then the Long Trip Home...

When our cruise and associated travel was booked, our travel agent arranged an airport transfer for us from the boat on the morning of departure, however our flight was not until 4pm, and that would have meant sitting around at the airport for most of the day with more of Spain sitting right outside, sight unseen. So we took the lead of our other Kiwi clansmen and women and cancelled our transfer, booking instead a cruise tour which also deposited us at the airport.

The trip was to Monserrat, an old (no longer functioning) monastery high in the hills beyond Barcelona. For the devout, there was the opportunity to pass by and touch the Black Madonna in the magnificent church, where a mass was being held when we entered.

There was not a lot to do there, but the beauty and reverence of the place definitely made the visit worthwhile. Far more attractive than a morning spent at the airport.

We always knew the travel home would be hideous. Barcelona airport was fun for me, having to run to all ends of the airport and stand in many, many queues to get my tax back on my Florence purchases -sure earned my €65.

My watch remains on Dubai time, where we arrived late at 1a.m. last night after our 6 hour leg from Barcelona. Our next flight was not scheduled to leave till 10:15 a.m. Dubai time, and the promise of a good few hours asleep in a hotel on Emirates' tab proved a fallacy; by the time we got there and checked in it was 3:30am and the morning transfer was 7:30 am. Oh well, at least we had a bit of horizontal time.

We left Dubai 45 mins after our scheduled departure time, so have already been on our butts for 5 hours. My on board info now tells me we are still currently 9 hrs from Sydney. From there a refuel and then the flight to Auckland.

It is what it is though, and I will paint on my smiliest face as I brave my first day back at work on Wednesday! 

PS Looking forward to seeing these fellas... 

Barcelona, I'll Be Back

I was so looking forward to my Spanish introduction, with a purported two days in Barcelona. It was sad that I did not get to experience as much of this amazing city as I would have liked. It is definitively high on the 'must see more' list; it's a city that both Mum and I loved the energy and look of, and of the big cities we visited on this cruise, Barcelona was my favourite.

The thing about cruising and big cities is that it's rare of you feel you have really felt the heart of them, because if the limited amount of time you have there. Even with our extra day in Rome, we did not get to know it properly. The same goes for Barcelona. I kind of knew this would happen as we moved through the cruise, and therefore I/we chose to look at Barcelona through the eyes of Gaudi, by way of his tour with the cruise.

When we went to book we were told the tours were full, but that we could go on a waiting list. Then we got a letter to say the wait list had been cancelled. I visited the excursions desk on the off chance and was told that, because it was the last day of the cruise, it would be highly likely that there would be no-shows, and so we were to turn up just before departure to nab a spare seat. I had been so lucky though this whole cruise that I was quite confident we'd get one ... but we didn't. I was devastated when all 160 booked passengers did in fact, turn up for their tour. 

Gutted, we opted for our fallback of the hop in hop off with Pat and Penny. Seeing them again when we'd said our goodbyes the night before was the bonus to missing the tour. I'd not done much research however, so felt a little out of sorts with what we were doing. But we headed of to firstly circumnavigate Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, which was amazing, even if we only got to see it from the outside. To see it completed in ten years will be my pull to come back.

We then continued on the bus, looking to make a meeting deadline with our other kiwi friends back at the boat at 2pm. The bus, however, had different ideas. It was ridiculously slow, and we had to just hope that our friends would go on without us. (Which fortunately they did).

Eventually we made our own way back to La Rambla, the well known walking boulevard of Barcelona. Also renowned for its pickpockets but fortunately we were perfectly safe. I loved the stalls, the people watching and the vibe, but we were a bit jaded so made a quick trip back for a freshen up on the boat, then, following a bit of messaging, arranged our rendezvous in the city again with Tom, Jan, Michelle and Wayne. 

It took a wee while for Mum and me to find the meeting place, but on our travels we happened across an amazing indoor food market. I could have stayed there for ages, but just fired off some memory shots before finding somewhere to have our authentic Spanish fare for tea. The food wasn't quite as spectacular as we had hoped, but the sangria was just fine.

Our Kiwi get together was to see a Flamenco show recommended to Tom. It was just a half hour show at Tarantos, but it was incredible. High energy, intense emotion and real talent and authenticity. The main female performer was no spring chicken, but man was she fit, expressive and so clever. The flamenco guitarist also had me mesmerised. I had a front row seat and tried to get a bit fancy with a few of my shots but won't really know how successful I was till they're on the computer. The light was really tricky, combine that with constant movement and I think luck will come in to play. Maybe it will have gone my way this time.

Life on Board

I thought that seeing as this was my first cruise and all, that I would record a few pics and thoughts for my own reflection and posterity. Other 'cruisers' will have different experiences and opinions, and those who haven't cruised at all may or may not find it interesting.

I had some preconceptions about cruising before I left, so good, some bad, some confirmed, some refuted. For starters, I thought the time on board whilst at seas would be a bit boring and that time would drag, but there was plenty to keep us occupied.

The boat (ship, sorry! ) we sailed on, the MS Noordam (Holland America Line) seemed huge to me when we first got on, and I spent the first few days walking In the opposite direction when heading places. The Noordam could take about 2000 passengers, and had an additional 800 staff onboard. But we saw several larger vessels, including the Norwiegan Epic which reportedly carried 5000 passengers.

Of the staff, 30%, including all bar staff, where Filipino, and 50% were Indonesian, including all the wait staff and room staff. These people were the ones who made cruising a warm and enjoyable experience. They were amazing; so friendly and convivial, appropriately cheeky and always smiling and always willing to help. Most were on 10 month contracts and many had sacrificed family life to take the position on, with the prospect of earning better money for better life back home. I loved them.

The two main dining options were in the upstairs Lido, which was buffet style, or down in the Vista lounge, where you sat down with others at tables of about 8, therefore meeting new people every night. We used this option most often, three course meals (not big though), although you could actually elect to have the whole menu of you so desired. As mentioned in a previous post, on the night that Filet Mignon with lobster was on the menu, Mike from New Jersey taught me you could ask for as many lobster tails as you liked and they would keep in bringin' them out. The food was excellent. And it shows on my body lol.

We fell into the routine of a drink at the Ocean Bar most nights before dinner, though there were several others to choose from, and we did not sample them all. I also liked the outdoor bar at the back of the boat, where I'd often go by myself, sit with my camera ans sip on a Margarita watching the sun set, especially during sail aways. 

Both Mum and I enjoyed the Explorations Cafe; a quiet spot to read and take decent coffee, free for us with our unlimited beverages card, but not for most. We even sat like Nanas doing the jigsaws they had out sometimes and we supped our espressos. Pissed me off that there were always pieces missing though lol. It was interesting that all the food was free (as it should be) but you had to pay for anything you drank outside of juices, tea and filter coffee. Even daily bottled water was a charge. 

We actually didn't make much use of the night life, as our main focus was the daytime activities (i.e. visiting the ports of call!) so made sure we were fresh for that each day. We went to a couple of the shows, but because we ate a formal dinner later in the evening, we usually retired after that to read, write and relax. We didn't do a lot of other on board activities either; Mum and I both visited the spa twice, both time on 'at sea' days. I'd have loved to go more but it was really expensive. Even the two treatments I had I would never have paid as much for at home, but I put it down to all part of the experience. The girls there were gorgeous, and the sea view as you were pampered wasn't that bad either.

Although there were good facilities available, I had a holiday from any sort of gym, but we did walk around the Promenade deck for exercise. Once. We didn't use the pools either. For me I was mainly shy about my winter body, although I doubt I would have stood out amongst the bathers to be perfectly honest. I dragged Mum to Team Trivia a few times when we were on board at the right time. It was run by the events manager Kieron, and I think I'd quite like his job. Organising events and activities meeting and greeting, remembering people names and where they are from... Sounds right up my alley! We also did do some on board shopping, even if a lot of the stuff was not quite my usual 

style. Once we went to a cooking show although it was really basic so we gave others a miss.

I think the on board activities were more for the people who spent a lot of time on board and didn't get off at all the ports. This was my biggest surprise about cruising; the number of people who do it all the time! Of course it is a lot more accessible for people up in the northern hemisphere to just hop on a Carribean or Meditierranean cruise, but some did it several times a year. They must be made of money because it is not cheap on board. And because many of those folk have visited the ports of call several times, they often don't bother with going ashore. 

I would definitely go cruising again, largely for the lifestyle. Not if my rationale was to experience other countries and cultures. That was the frustrating part of cruising for me; the strict deadlines to be back on board, and the short timeframes in each destination. For example, I can say I have 'been' to Barcelona, but I don't feel like I have 'seen' Barcelona.

But it was terrific to get to see so many places in such a short amount of time, and not have to move your suitcase once! Having all my stuff in drawers and the wardrobe and only having to pack up at the end was awesome man. We loved our little cabin, with its wee verandah. Here I often sat in the early morning in my night attire, watching the next port reveal itself as we came in to dock, often as the sun rose. It was really sound proof and light proof, in fact most mornings the dudes with our pre ordered coffee and tea were the ones that woke us up! What a sight for them 😝.

The only real negative for me was the cost and ineffiency of the Internet. It was outrageously priced and ridiculously slow. Small gripe. 

In addition to the places we visited, one of the biggest positives of cruising was the people I have met. Not just the ones that I know I'll stay in touch with, but also all the other interesting travellers from various countries who I would never have otherwise crossed paths with. Most were easy and interesting to talk with and almost everyone we met loved NZ or wanted to visit if they had not yet been. If you are a people person like me and you have not cruised, I think you'd like it.

A Day in Provence

I'll admit to feeling a little travel weary when I got up today. Thoughts of packing and the long journey home keep creeping in to my mind, meaning re-entry to the real world is imminent. Also docking in another city port with a 12 mile trip from port to city centre was not an exciting prospect. I needed to get out into the country!

We took our chances again and did not book anything off the ship, opting again for a taxi tour with Pat and Penny. I'm getting adept at negotiating with the drivers, and for a price that reflected the Tourist Information suggestion, we booked Christian. We'd picked out the names of a couple of small towns (having little idea of their proximity to one another) and suggested them to Christian. He came up with an alternative and we agreed to head first to Aix en Provence, and then out to the coastal town of Cassis.

Aix en Provence was a 45 min drive. It was a neat little town, not overrun with tourists, and being a Thursday, it was market day. We spent a couple of hours wandering the streets collectively and individually, browsing and photographing.

As is my recollection of my past visits to France, dogs accompany their owners frequently here. In and out of shops and cafes, where man goes dog goes. Pleased that there is less poop than last time though! Seeing this wee cavalier and getting a lovely cuddle from her was special.

I bought a couple of tops at the market, without being able able to try them on... Back on board they fit ok but perhaps not flattering, although that could be the constant food consumption that is becoming more blatantly obvious by the day... Still, eating is like spending money on holiday; you do much more of both than in your ordinary life, and just have to deal with the consequences when you get home!

Then it was on to Cassis. Prior to this, Christian took us waaaaaay up the top of a mountain, the name of which I can't currently recall, for another amazing vista along the coast. I have taken several photographs of spots like this as we cruise the Mediterranean, and they are all far more beautiful to the eye than through the camera. The expanse is difficult to record in pixels, and the feeling of being up so high and being able to see so far is one that needs to be imprinted in the memory. There was no guard or fence on the cliff's edge, which was a long drop to certain death, and Mum and I both commented that this would never be seen in NZ. Obviously popular with climbers though, as we saw a rope trail attached to a rock at the top. 

We then wound our way down to Cassis. What a little gem. The weather was perfect and the town so picturesque and peaceful. Christian had done a great job in suggesting this place. We were all starving so lunch was the first activity. We selected a cafe from several on the marina, and being in a French fishing town, Pat, Mum and I ordered bouillabaisse. Sounded and looked impressive but was perhaps not the experience we'd anticipated. For a start, they served us the option that included lobster, when we had pointed to the one without, at €10 euro difference! Our wine too, had been upgraded to the more expensive option, and I felt guilty that today was Mums lunch day (we take turn about to pay). It would certainly have been our most costly meal out to date. Eating it was technically interesting; cracking the lobster claws and picking out fish bones. It certainly tasted of the sea though, and was an experience that will linger.

I then took an hour to wander the village by myself. It was delightful.

A quick stop at a vineyard for photos and we headed back towards Marsellies.

On the way back to port, Christian took us way up to the top of a hill to the Notre Dame de la Garde, an amazingly beautiful structure which allowed for incredible 360 degree panoramic views of the city of Marsellies. So without intention, we still got to 'see' this city. Again tricky to convey the expanse photographically, but it was fantastic to be up there, looking out across the city, out to the island where the Count of Monte Cristo was filmed, and all the way out to the port where the Noordam was docked.

So for a day that I was not particularly inspired about at the start, it turned out to be one of the loveliest days of the trip so far. Although we were docked till 11pm, we chose to continue with what has become our usual on ship routine when we got back... Coffee and a read in the Explorations Cafe, a hefty gun and tonic then down to dine in the Vista lounge. We eat a three (sometimes four lol) course meal most nights, but the portions are not big, unlike what you'd get in an NZ restaurant. The food on this ship is absolutely superb.

Tomorrow is an at sea day, and I hope to document the ship. 

Magical Monaco

I was toying with playing around with Monaco sounds like Manukau for my title, but really, you could not get a greater variance between where I live and where I visited today.

Monaco was another stop on my 1997 Contiki, and my recollections are of posed late afternoon photos against the views, dinner out and a visit to the Grand Casino, where we bet small to say we'd done it, then did more posing with the flash cars outside. The 2014 visit was somewhat different, but equally as memorable.

Mum and I had Penny with us today, so Pat could go and do car stuff. We contemplated a trip out to Nice, but in the end stuck with staying in Monaco, and we're happy with our choice. We've learned that even though there's a lot to do within the proximity of ports, sometimes just concentrating on one area and not thinking what you might be missing elsewhere is just as satisfying as trying to cram several destinations onto one day.

For the first time we decided to orient ourselves by hop-on-hop-off bus, not that we ended up doing much hopping. Our first departure from the bus was at the top of old Monaco, Monaco-Ville, where the Prince's castle is. We took a walk back down the hill a bit to capture the amazing views on what was another great day weather wise, sunny and about 24 degrees. If you've looked on my FB page you'll see that I took a few panoramic shots on my iPhone, which I reckon came put OK.

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After walking back up the hill we came to Jacques Cousteau's aquarium and museum, and went in for a look. It was awesome. I took many bad photos of pretty fish behind glass, but loved watching them anyway.

 We chose not to go to the museum part, opting instead for an outside look of the cathedral and lunch in one of the small and picturesque pedestrian alleys.

Following this we too, a local bus (because it was not in the hoo on/off's route) up to the Jardin Exotique, exotic harden, full of cacti and succulents. It was great, although the full sun wasn't that helpful for making good photos. 

The garden wound its at downhill showing us more awesome vistas as we went, and eventually we came to the entrance of a limestone grotto. Our ticket included a 40 minute tour so if we went towards the bowels of the earth. A good few steps in, the guide told us 300 steps down, 300 steps up. Jeez. I dare not complain, my mother is 73 and Penny 71! The stalactites and stalagmites were impressive and the information thorough, though a little long winded for me. 

We escaped a little early to allow extra time to get up the stairs - though we were all machines - then caught the bus Monaco to our original hop off point and completed the circuit back to the ship about 4pm. That was enough for us for the day.
Two more stops to go. Tomorrow we dock in Marsellies, and are planning to get ourselves out into the countryside of Provence, though not quite sure how just yet! Will keep you posted.

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A Holiday Day on Corsica

We knew little about the island of Corsica when we landed other than is was our first French stop. Despite this, we opted not to book a cruise tour, or to venture out from the township of our port, Calvi. I am sure there were some picture perfect little villages out there, but after a full on day yesterday, a wee meander was all that was on order for us today. It turned out to be a great choice, as Calvi was just what the doctor ordered; picturesque, relaxed and not overrun by tourists.

The first thing we did when we got off the tender boat, was to wind our way up what looked like a sizeable hill, but proved to be an easily managed walk, to the top of the old citadel. This allowed for panoramic views, with shots of our ship looking lovely in the background of some. 

Following that, our day consisted of walking the streets, stopping for coffee/beer/lunch/wifi and shopping, and not much else. They day evaporated happily and we made our way back to the boat about 3:30, for a 4:30 sail away.

I read and relaxed until dinner, and we have retired early, excited to be visiting Monaco tomorrow. This another place I have great memories of from 1997, and I can't wait to go back. We sat at dinner with an Aussie couple who were there recently, so have some ideas about what we want to do.This may or may not include getting out to a Nice and/or Cannes, it will depend on time management seeing as we are not doing an organised tour tomorrow either. 

The countdown to leaving for home is now on too, as well as organising our last couple of stops in Marseilles and Barcelona. We are disappointed to have missed out in getting a place in the Gaudi museum tour, so are busy exploring options to do this ourselves. We also have one more at sea day on Friday, and this will need to be used for packing most likely! I think it is fortunate that Mum bought an extra suitcase back in Greece lol. She work,d probably disagree, but I think she's outdone me two to one on the shopping front 👡 👗 👜